Magazine: Mishawaka a good place to raise kids

November 27, 2009|By SUE LOWE Tribune Staff Writer

MISHAWAKA — The city of Mishawaka came in second in Indiana in a BusinessWeek magazine list of "Best Places to Raise Your Kids: 2010." Most of the people approached downtown today weren't surprised by the ranking. Trish Becker, who has five children, said "everything is very convenient" in Mishawaka. She and her family live downtown, and they're near the library, city parks, schools and churches. And Becker, who was holding 1-month-old Mary Grace while waiting for breakfast to be served at Carol's Downtown restaurant, said there's great shopping if you want to go farther north in Mishawaka to the Grape Road/Main Street area. Carolyn Danner, the owner of Les Deux Seours antique store and tea shop, also wasn't surprised. She believes Mishawaka High School has one of the strongest alumni systems in the state. And she's not even part of it. Danner grew up on the west side of South Bend and now lives north of South Bend. She said she opened her store in downtown Mishawaka because much of the historic downtown has been preserved, including the old-fashioned storefronts. Robert Smith, a former Mishawaka High School principal who was walking down the street this morning, also wasn't surprised. After all, he stayed in Mishawaka after retiring. "We expect it," he said of that kind of designation. "We chose to move to Mishawaka because it has that little town feel without being little," said Aubrea Geans, one of the owners of the Beanery Gourmet Coffee and Cafe downtown. "I like South Bend, but it has a big town feel." Geans said Mishawaka is safe enough "to walk around day and night, ride bikes and play." Mayor Jeff Rea noted in a news release that the city's motto is "working together to building the best hometown in America." He said the city didn't apply for the designation. It just happened. Chantal Casto had a different opinion. She said she moved from Mishawaka to Niles to raise her children because she believes Niles has better schools and a better atmosphere. Niles is in a different state but would not have been considered for the BusinessWeek list in Michigan because its population isn't large enough. According to the BusinessWeek Web site, the rankings were for cities with at least 45,000 residents with a median income of between $40,000 and $125,000. Fishers was the first-place city in Indiana, with nearby Carmel third. Criteria considered included school performance, the number of schools, household expenditures, crime rates, air quality, job growth, family income, museums, parks, theaters and diversity. Affordability, safety and school test scores were given the greatest weight. No one at BusinessWeek could be reached today to confirm whether Penn-Harris-Madison school scores were used as well as those of School City of Mishawaka. Staff writer Sue Lowe: slowe@sbtinfo.com (574) 247-7758